"While [European] national cultures were concocted to distinguish one economic unit of capital from another, civilizational thinking was invented to unify these cultures against their colonial consequences. Islamic, Indian, or African civilizations were invented contrapuntally by Orientalism ...in order to match, balance and thus authenticate 'Western Civilization'."

Source : "For the Last Time: Civilizations". International Sociology, Volume 16, Issue 3, September 01, 2001.

Hamid Dabashi

You may also like: